


Twelfth Future

by piroppo (madoukihei)



Category: Wakfu
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, Harebourg denies death, Multi, Post-Canon, Qilby just really REALLY likes SCIENCE guys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-07-03 05:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15812256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madoukihei/pseuds/piroppo
Summary: Six years after the defeat of Oropo, things finally seem peaceful.At least, until a certain Alchemist gets his hands on Eliacube shards and Qilby is summoned.Yugo deals with his trauma in bad ways.Post-canon, semi-AU, crackships galore, everyone's gay and not even your protagonists are safe from making bad choices.





	1. The Comedown

The sun shone through the leaves, dappling the ground with bright light. The grass below was covered in water- It had rained last night, and the scent hung in the air. The World was at peace… For once. Having no need to worry helped everyone focus on their family and occupations, though many missed the thrill of risk. 

Furry ears twitched as a knocking came upon a wooden door, but there was no response. Heartbeats passed before the knocking repeated, harder and louder than before. 

“Ogrest, go back to bed, it’s… Too late for you to be…”

The knocks repeated again, hard enough to shake the shelves on the wall. A large but empty vial fell on the head of the sleeping man, and he stumbled back from his desk, eyes wild with shock but still half-closed in exhaustion. 

“Come in…!” he yelled, rubbing his head gently and bending over to pick up the vial. While awaiting the visitor’s entry, he decided to get back to his work. Taking little notice of the footsteps behind him, he buried his nose in his book, almost literally as he tried to make sense of his late-night writing. 

“Wow,” came a small voice from behind him. “It smells nice! What are you cooking? Is it tasty?”

Another voice interrupted, clearly frustrated. “He’s not cooking, Chibi. Let him focus.”

The Alchemist’s ears perked and twitched with each comment from Chibi, and he would occasionally hum a response. Chibi eventually found his way next to him, and peered over the desk, trying to get a good look. 

“Alright,” he spoke finally, stepping back and almost tripping over Chibi in the process. “I think we’re good. Yugo, Chibi, what did you need?”

“Not much, Otomai,” Yugo replied simply. “Amalia just wanted me to check in on you. She says no one’s seen you in a week…”

“It hasn’t been a week, has it? I swear I just started on this yesterday… Hm. Well,” Otomai lowered himself to Yugo’s level. “I found some shards recently that I thought were some form of Ogrines, but…”

“But?” Yugo tilted his head, looking at Otomai with a confused expression. “But what?”

“But they don’t seem to be,” was the only response, Otomai shaking his head. He held one of the shards in his hand- It was small, and a dull blue. It was heavily scratched, but the Feca could have sworn he made out a pattern on it at one point. He shrugged and placed the shard back on his desk, taking no note of the slight glow when it was placed next to another shard. 

“How have you and Chibi been?” Otomai asked, attempting to make idle conversation as he turned back to his book. Yugo had always admired that his friend could read, talk, and listen at the same time, though he supposed that came with being the child of Feca. 

Chibi’s response was a loud, incomprehensible yell, which was met with wailing from Ogrest. Yugo laughed. “The usual, though Chibi still won’t let up on Adamai after that last incident.”

“Right, with Grougal. I remember,” Otomai nodded. “Alibert’s probably not the happiest, is he? The Inn must be a wreck.”

“Nah, Ad and I helped clean up. How have you and Ogrest been?”

Otomai looked up for a minute to see that Ogrest was now standing on top of his desk, holding the shards. He started to formulate a response when Ogrest touched the shards together and there was a large burst of energy. The Feca screamed and dove to rescue his son, while Yugo and Chibi backed off. 

The shards had risen out of Ogrest’s hands, and were now spinning aggressively above the desk, occasionally making more little zaps of energy. Otomai stared up, shocked and confused, while Yugo and Chibi exchanged nervous glances as the shards glowed more intensely. 

There was one more intense flash, enough for the group to all close their eyes for a minute or so. When he was sure the light had faded, Yugo opened his eyes slowly, and looked down at the floor to see a lanky man in long robes on top of Otomai. 

Everything stopped for a moment. Yugo’s breath caught in his throat, and he was unable to move for a moment. He tried to say something- anything- but all that would come out were confused, strangled noises. He pulled Chibi close to him, collecting himself and preparing to defend the younger Eliatrope. 

As the two stood up, Otomai looked around in confusion. “Agh, what happened? Is Ogrest alright…?” He scanned the room for a few moments before noticing the man who stood next to him. He tilted his head, raising a brow, but before he could get a word in, the man started to circle him, eyes wide and curious as he looked the Feca over. He tried to question the stranger, but he had little interest in listening to Otomai- He was now observing their surroundings, taking everything in. 

“You’re an Alchemist,” he spoke at last, turning to Otomai and finally giving the man a glimpse of who he was. Pushing his glasses up casually, he gave Otomai a look. “I thought they were legend.”

“And you’re Qilby,” Otomai responded, deadpan. “I thought you were locked away forever.”

Qilby blinked a bit, then frowned. “You don’t have to be so cruel about it.”

Yugo couldn’t help but notice something was different, not only in Qilby’s appearance, but his actions, as well. The way he held himself, mixed with the messy, faded hair and tired eyes reminded Yugo of when they’d first met… But more timid. Qilby’s gaze eventually caught Yugo, and the two both tensed. 

“Why are you here?!” Yugo blurted the question, aggressive off the bat as he stepped forward. Qilby shrunk back. 

“I-I--” he struggled to find the words, glancing nervously between Yugo and Otomai. “I don’t know, I just--”

Before either Eliatrope could make another movement, Ogrest stomped his foot down on the ground, and with a pout, demanded, “No arguing in Ogrest’s house!”

Otomai chuckled, sweeping his son up into his arms again. “Thanks, Ogrest. Yugo, tell Amalia I'll talk to her when possible.”

Yugo’s expression hardened, a glare directed at the Feca. “About what? What we’re going to do with that--” he gestured angrily to Qilby and sputtered, trying to find words that were child-friendly. “That jerk?!”

“Yes,” Otomai responded, his annoyance beginning to show- he just wanted to get back to work. “What we’ll do with Qilby.”

“I hope Qilby gets a say in what you do with him,” the Eliatrope piped up, earning a glare from both Yugo and Otomai. 

“Fine then,” Yugo grumbled. “Let’s go, Chibi.” With that, he stormed off, fists clenched. Chibi glanced back at Qilby and Otomai for a moment, then dashed to keep up with Yugo. 

As soon as he was certain the two had left, Otomai sighed, letting Ogrest down and throwing himself down onto a chair. He held his head in his hands, then looked up and groaned. “How in the World am I going to explain this one?!”

Qilby took a seat across from Otomai, a small smile on his face. “If it’s any comfort… I mean no harm.”

“Oh, you come in peace, that’s great.” Otomai shook his head. “And you acted like you meant no harm last time you were around, too.”

“You know,” Qilby averted his gaze as he spoke, his voice lowering in volume. “Being given freedom and then locked away, knowing your people are out there, knowing there was a time you weren’t a monster in their eyes and that you can be loved by them again…”

Otomai blinked, hesitated for a few heartbeats, then sighed again. “You want a chance to change. Is that it?” Qilby nodded, and Otomai sat up straight. “Well then. We’ll take it to the royals. But for now, let’s get you settled in.”


	2. Sea of Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If that is what it takes, to be a stone's throw from your throne... No man has ever hung from the rafters of a second home."
> 
> Otomai and Qilby confront Amalia about what's happened, and things get a little heated. Does Qilby really want to change?

Qilby was anxious- rightfully so. He tapped his fingers on the table lightly, trying to keep himself grounded. The shards were still there, showing more signs of wear now, and he couldn’t bring his eyes to leave them. He wondered just how it had happened- Otomai had briefed him on what had happened while he was hidden away in the White Dimension, but he couldn’t quite comprehend it.

What had he been anxious about, again? Oh, yes. He was going with Otomai to bring these to Amalia. He was going to speak to Amalia, plead for his right to stay, and explain that he didn’t even want to be there.  _ Great _ .

If she said yes? Great! He could stay. He felt he didn’t deserve it, but he could stay! And if she said no? Great! Exiled again! That was all fine and dandy.

 

Otomai emerged from his room eventually, tucking something away in his bag. He gave Qilby a gesture, then walked over to meet him and grabbed the shards from the table. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, staring at one of the shards which he held between his fingers. “I can talk to her alone. I can make a good case for you, I’m sure she’d listen to me.”

“ _ No _ ,” Qilby insisted, his voice low. “I’ll look like a coward.” He got to his feet, using his one arm to brush himself off a bit as if he felt he looked too dirty. Otomai had lent him some spare clothes so he didn’t look like he’d just stumbled out of his battle with Yugo so many years ago, but he still felt like he looked… Tired and messy. “I can talk to a princess. My brother is a king.”

Otomai responded with a quiet “I’m sure you can,” his expression slightly smug but also filled with concern for the man he’d so kindly taken in. He knew he shouldn’t be too hard on him. Being isolated for twelve years after seeing your kind again must not be fun. He did find it a bit odd how Qilby had just coincidentally shown up on the day Yugo had come to check in on him, but surely there was a logical explanation.  _ Everything _ had a logical explanation.

“I heard that,” Qilby responded as he turned to leave. “Now, the sooner this is over with, the better.”

  
  


Amalia, as they expected, was not amused. The Sadida stared the Eliatrope down disapprovingly, as Otomai watched from behind Qilby. Qilby opened his mouth to speak, and Amalia held a hand up, gesturing for silence, before putting it to her face. She let out a sigh.  “Otomai, what did you  _ do? _ ” She asked, exasperated. “Did you- Do you even think before you do anything?"

 

The Feca’s ears folded back in shame. “Princess, I assure you, I had no idea they were Eliacube shards, I- I don’t even know how they got here.”

“And you’re just letting a criminal stay in your house?” She questioned him, taking note of the fact Qilby flinched at the word  _ criminal _ .

“... Yes, I’m letting a criminal stay in my house.”

 

“If I may, Your Highness,” Qilby began-

“No, you may not.”

Qilby raised an eyebrow and continued. “It wasn’t Otomai’s fault. It seems to be that the  _ Eliacube itself _ did this. After all, it was destroyed, correct? It seems this would be triggered by that.”

 

“Six years later?” Otomai chimed in, genuinely confused. “Why not in the Pocket Dimension? When the explosion happened?”

Qilby sighed, and Amalia nodded. “Exactly,” was her response, short and sweet.

“I don’t know,” Qilby’s voice began to break. “I don’t know. I don’t! I didn’t ask for this. Otomai didn’t ask for this, none of us asked for this! I don’t want this! Is that satisfactory?!” His volume raised gradually as he spoke. 

 

Otomai, concerned, approached him, placing a hand on his left shoulder. The Eliatrope flinched again, and Otomai withdrew with a quiet “sorry.”

It was then that they noticed genuine tears streaming down his face. Amalia paused for a moment, looking at Otomai with a panicked expression. “ _ What are we supposed to do? _ ” she mouthed, and the Feca shrugged.

Amalia took a deep breath, then stepped down from her throne cautiously. “Qilby, you may stay. But you need to promise to me- for everyone- that you won’t cause any harm.”

“I won’t, Your Highness,” his voice was faint as he responded. “I won’t.”

  
  


As the two returned to Otomai’s home, Qilby’s expression was blank, absent. Now and then, he’d feel a tear well up in his eyes, and he’d blink it away. As they entered, a loud thumping rang out, approaching the door at high speed.

“Papa Otomai!” Ogrest cheered, leaping into his father’s arms. He cast a quick glance at Qilby, then looked up at Otomai, tilting his head curiously. Otomai shook his head.

“Why is he crying?” Ogrest prompted, and Qilby looked at him, eyes wide with the sudden realization that there was, in fact, a child here. 

“... Remember when we brought you back and everyone was afraid of you?” Otomai responded, a pointed look at the Eliatrope as he spoke. “Qilby’s just going through something similar.”

“Ogrest isn’t scared!” the little ogre argued, jumping out of Otomai’s arms and tugging at one of Qilby’s pants legs. “Qilby seems nice!”

Qilby froze for a moment, then got down to his knees to be eye-to-eye with Ogrest.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

 

Otomai chuckled. “Careful,” he warned, “he imprints easily.” But as Ogrest hugged him tightly, Qilby decided he didn’t mind. He didn’t mind it if the only people that tolerated him were Otomai and his son. For the first time in what felt like centuries, Qilby laughed with pure joy. Maybe he had a chance to prove himself, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you wait like, half a year. I have no excuse, really. Just my mental health.
> 
> This chapter's title is inspired by "Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Sea of Tears)" by Destroyer, and (if it shows up) last chapter's title is inspired by "Dizzy on the Comedown" by Turnover! Check them out for some extra fic feels.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually know if this notes thing will only be at the bottom of chapter 1. I don't know how this site works. 
> 
> But here we are, folks, the fic I've been memeing on. I tagged quite a few things prematurely just so I wouldn't forget, but I'll probably have to go back and add tags as things go on. 
> 
> I'd like to say thanks to everyone who's been patient with me through me posting contextless stupidity on Tumblr. Your context begins now.


End file.
